- 3 in 5 people<\/a> check their emails on their mobile phones.
<\/li>- 43.2%<\/a> of people delete emails not optimized for mobile.
<\/li>- iPhone enjoys the highest percentage of email opens at 28.4%.
<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nThe point? You should design emails for mobile first, and then for desktop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSmartphones and tablets can no longer be ignored by email marketers. They represent a massive part of all email interactions and revenue,\u201d writes<\/a> Jordie van Rijn, email marketing pro and founder of Email Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But how do you design emails specifically for mobile? That\u2019s what you\u2019ll be learning in this comprehensive guide to responsive email templates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, it can be challenging to adapt emails to various screens. Besides, email clients can be very taxing. But don\u2019t you worry! Because we will guide you from the other side of 3000+ templates\/ month across 50+ ESPs, go figure! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, we\u2019ll get started in the following order:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n- What Is A Responsive Email Template? The Definition
<\/strong><\/a><\/li>- Core Principles of Responsive Email Design
<\/strong><\/a><\/li>- Benefits of Using Responsive Email Templates
<\/strong><\/a><\/li>- Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Responsive Email Template
<\/strong><\/a><\/li>- Best Practices for Responsive Email Templates
<\/strong><\/a><\/li>- Common Challenges in Responsive Email Templates
<\/strong><\/a><\/li>- Responsive Email Templates by Email Uplers<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Is A Responsive Email Template? <\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A responsive email template is a pre-built or customized template that seamlessly adjusts to various devices\/screen sizes without losing its quality. For example, here is a pre-live template we designed for Maven that looks equally good on desktop and mobile. <\/p>\n\n\n\r\n
\r\n \r\n \t\t\r\n\t \t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t \t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t \t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t \t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t![\"customized](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/device-optimised-template.png\")
\r\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t \tImage source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t \t <\/div>\r\n\t <\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mobile version of an email stacks the elements vertically. You can observe this in the email above. For example, the final call-to-action button is displayed above, rather than alongside, the image. Similarly, the website and the app download links also stack up on the smaller screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMobile devices give a very limited viewing screen, and the ideal design for mobile devices<\/a> is one column,\u201d says<\/a> Carin Slater, Email and Content Growth Marketing Manager at Litmus. \u201cBut we don\u2019t want to limit ourselves to single-column designs on desktop where we have loads of space. Enter media queries to let you stack content on mobile to make sure your content is optimized for the smaller screen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later in this post, you\u2019ll learn how to stack columns for mobile viewing as it is one of the most important aspects of responsive email templates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n \u201c<\/span>Responsive design offers us a way forward, finally allowing us to design for the ebb and flow of things.\u201d<\/span><\/em>\n <\/p>– Ethan Marcotte, inventor of the term responsive design
<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is critical to appreciate that unlike responsive web design, support for HTML and CSS standards is not uniform across email clients. As a result, the reputation of email as a technology, moderate as far as technology goes, seems greater than great in light of the reputation of email clients<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, here\u2019s how things can go wrong: This email appears flawless on desktop, but goes south on mobile. <\/p>\n\n\n\r\n
\r\n \r\n \t\t\r\n\t \t\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t \t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t \t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t \t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/1520245615349.jpg\")
\r\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \r\n\t\t\t \tImage source<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t\t \t\t <\/div>\r\n\t\t \t <\/div>\r\n\t <\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\n\n\n
\u201cGoated\u201d content?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, when it comes to creating responsive emails, forewarned is forearmed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Core Principles of Responsive Email Design<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Below are five core principles of responsive email design:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Fluid layouts:<\/strong> An email should dynamically adjust to multiple screens and devices. A fluid or percentage-based layout makes this possible.
<\/li>- Mobile-first approach:<\/strong> Because the majority of email opens occur on mobile devices, a mobile-first approach is key.
<\/li>- Minimal design:<\/strong> A responsive email is clean, clutter-free, and focused on presenting urgent information in bite-sized form.
<\/li>- Testing: <\/strong>The pre-live email is made to pass through multiple checks with the help of email testing tools. It is tested on various devices, including smartphones, tablets, and desktops.
<\/li>- Client optimization:<\/strong> The email is optimized for various email clients, such as Apple Mail, Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
![\"responsive](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Banner-04-100.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nBenefits of Using Responsive Email Templates<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Imagine a scenario where one of your subscribers wants to open and look at a promotional email you just sent. The subscriber is on a crowded bus and they can\u2019t open their laptop to check your email. So, they try the phone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But your email doesn\u2019t render well on the small screen. The user is having to scroll horizontally to read the content; the images are cut off, and in some places, they\u2019re overlapping the text; but the text, too, is ant-sized. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The consequence? Your subscriber is frustrated and quits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the time they get home, they may no longer remember checking your email on the desktop. To sum it up, this is a horrible though preventable UX. Good UX is the number one benefit of a responsive email template<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But here are four more benefits as a direct result of good UX:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Increased accessibility: <\/strong>The more your email is accessible across devices and environments, the greater the scope of engagement.
<\/li>- Higher open rates:<\/strong> If you\u2019ve convinced subscribers that your emails are responsive, it will lead to more opens across devices than when opened on one device only.
<\/li>- Higher scope of conversions:<\/strong> Urgent\/time-limited campaigns will benefit from mobile-optimized emails by enabling users to convert on the spot, no matter where they may be.
<\/li>- Better sales: <\/strong>The point of email marketing, just like any other channel, is more sales. Responsive emails guarantee seamless UX, automatically resulting in more sales. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Create A Responsive Email Template? A Step-by-Step Guide<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- Higher open rates:<\/strong> If you\u2019ve convinced subscribers that your emails are responsive, it will lead to more opens across devices than when opened on one device only.
- Mobile-first approach:<\/strong> Because the majority of email opens occur on mobile devices, a mobile-first approach is key.
- Core Principles of Responsive Email Design
- 43.2%<\/a> of people delete emails not optimized for mobile.
![\"Responsive](\"https:\/\/email.uplers.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Banner-02-100.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n